PolyU Design and Royal College of Art (UK) co-organised workshop on Human-Centred AI Design Methods

Workshop on Human-Centred AI Design Methods to Understand “Intelligent Systems Design empowered by Multisensory Experiences with Textiles” has been successfully held in collaboration between our MDes Intelligent System Design (ISD) programme and the Royal College of Art, UK (RCA).   Co-organising the workshop were Leader of the ISD programme and the Lab Studies subject (Intelligent Systems Construction), Prof. Stephen J. Wang, and RCA’s Textile MA tutor, Dr Elif Ozden Yenigun, and Research Associate Ms Lissy Hatfield. This workshop was to achieve the aims of co-generating tactile-based sensorial data for AI design tools and delivering the material centric design workshop to understand embodied ad tacit knowledge of the textile world.          Benefiting from the unique nature of ISD “Lab Studies” subjects, the purpose of the workshop was to understand human sensory experiences of textile materials, allowing students to explore the relationships between physical properties and characteristics and the subjective assessment of materials through the evaluation of textiles based on a range of physical gestures and actions that human adopted.          Guided by such experience, the ISD students brainstormed and developed ideas in groups around human-robot collaboration contributing to textile assessment at the end of the workshop.         PolyU School of Design’s Intelligent Systems Design (MDes) programme highly recognises data and intelligence-related technologies as critical components in nowadays’ industry and society. To develop students’ future-shaping creative design vision using the intelligent system, the transdisciplinary workshop, as a part of the ISD’s “Lab Studies: Intelligent Systems Construction” subject, has provided students with an opportunity to be involved in real-world research projects.         Prof. Stephen J. Wang emphasised that “this workshop is well aligned with ISD’s vision ‘to educate a new type of designer, one that has an in-depth understanding of data and intelligent technologies, system-focused thinking, innovative design skills, and engineering or technology mastery’. We should especially thank AiDLab management team, Research Associate Mr Zhengtao Ma, RCA Textile Circularity Centre’s Dr Chipp Jansen, and PhD students of PolyU Design Ms Yaqi Zhang and Ms Cong Fang for their assistance in the workshop’s preparation and operation.”

Vote for our student projects at UX Design Awards Spring 2023

Two outstanding student projects from PolyU Design have won the “UX Design Award | Nominated” Spring 2023 for the New Talent category. Organised by International Design Centre Berlin twice per year, the Awards is a global competition fostering the impact experience design has on shaping people’s lives.  Public Choice Award is now officially open for general public to show support to their favourite UX designs and designers on the shortlist. VOTE FOR OUR STUDENTS and their altruistic creations!    Pat-A-Pat | Community Fundraising Piggy Bank Tsz Shan Tam https://ux-design-awards.com/winners/pat-a-pat-community-fundraising-piggy-bank     Carebase Cheuk Yu Kelly Tang, Zhengtong Lin https://ux-design-awards.com/winners/carebase     The vote will be closing on 28 February 2023, and the winners will be announced on 1 March 2023. 

PolyU Design: Impact Report 2022

Dear friend,   Our warmest wishes for a happy new year!  As we look back on all that we have achieved and look forward to all that lies ahead, we hope 2023 brings you prosperity, growth, and good fortune.  We must also remain mindful of the challenges and trends facing the design industry. We believe that collaboration across different disciplines and innovation are key to tackling these issues, and we invite you to join us in this effort. We have recently published our first impact report, with a theme on the roles of designers in the modern world. We hope that you will take the time to read it and consider how it might inform your own education and research. Together, we can make a difference in the coming year. Wishing you a productive and successful Year of the Rabbit! READ NOW   Warm regards,  Prof. Kun-Pyo LEE, PhD, HonFDRS  Dean of School of Design  Swire Chair Professor of Design  Alex Wong Siu Wah Gigi Wong Fook Chi Professor in Product Design Engineering  The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

PolyU Design collaborated with Sino Group to design eco-friendly benches for the community

  A bench is more than a seat. It builds a community. PolyU Design collaborated with Sino Group on the Green Public Seating Design Project to utilize upcycled materials for making public benches. As part of the Cooperative Project in our BA Scheme, three groups of year-4 design students majoring in Product Design, Social Design, Advertising Design and Environment and Interior Design co-worked from start to finish, turning their ideas into concrete products.      The benches were later displayed in Lee Tung Street, giving a decorative touch to the public space, entertaining the pets, encouraging interactions among the community, promoting eco-friendly living and more.     Corporate collaborations are valuable opportunities for students to learn in practical situations and business operations. PolyU Design welcomes collaborations with companies from different industries in our Cooperative Projects of BA Scheme. We anticipate partnering with Sino Group and more corporates in the future.           

PolyU Design is now accepting 2 types of portfolios

Aligning with the reformed BA (Hons) Scheme in Design curriculum, we are branching out our reach to prospective students from more diverse backgrounds. Students with or without a design or creative background could apply by submitting either Creative or STEAM/Maker portfolios.

DFA Hong Kong Young Design Talent Award 2022

  Congratulations to our fresh graduates and alumni on winning DFA Hong Kong Young Design Talent Award (DFA HKYDTA).    Established in 2005, DFA HKYDTA is sponsored by Create Hong Kong of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the School of Design of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Hong Kong Design Institute.    It nurtures and recognises promising Hong Kong young design talent, providing awardees with financial sponsorship to work in overseas renowned design companies or study abroad in the hope of having their contributions to the city’s design industry upon their return.       Four PolyU Design graduates were awarded at DFA HKYDTA for their excellent works and recognized potential:        CHOI Yuet Sum Sharon  BA(Hons) in Communication Design         CreateSmart Young Design Talent Award 2022 DFA Hong Kong Young Design Talent Award 2022  https://ydta.dfaawards.com/en/winner_detail/?w=1&id=dNOnQnIOVmE       CHEUNG Tsz Ching Emily BA(Hons) in Environment and Interior Design      PolyU School of Design Young Design Talent Award 2022 DFA Hong Kong Young Design Talent Award 2022  https://ydta.dfaawards.com/en/winner_detail/?w=1&id=fD9bvrlwQhE       AU Tsui Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Design (Environmental and Interior Design), 2015 CreateSmart Young Design Talent Award 2022 DFA Hong Kong Young Design Talent Award 2022  https://ydta.dfaawards.com/en/winner_detail/?w=1&id=uh9pImYNGho     KONG Sin Yan Lisa             BA(Hons) in Communication Design, 2018 CreateSmart Young Design Talent Special Award 2022 DFA Hong Kong Young Design Talent Award 2022  https://ydta.dfaawards.com/en/winner_detail/?w=1&id=beJHpkwZJYI  

Education Corner Creative Workshop 2022

  At Education Corner Creative Workshop 2022, a concurrent event of the Business of Design Week, we welcomed students from 6 secondary schools to join our design-introductory workshops, inspiring our young guests with various aspects of fundamental design thinking and providing them an opportunity to get involved in hands-on creations. To better demonstrate what students can expect from studying PolyU Design’s BA scheme and to arouse students’ interests in design and creativity, we invited our alumni to host interesting craft workshops in 2 different themes—exploring possibilities of materials and 3D printing. Students constructed their own version of plant models using paper, wood and metal, and created Christmas ornaments through 3D printing technology at the workshops. We were happy to see students taking their creations home along with joy, knowledge and inspiration. Throughout the year, PolyU Design holds numerous talks and workshops to help secondary students recognize their goals and find their future paths.

《谷報》創刊號

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《谷報》第二期

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Design Students experiment with community food waste collection and eco-farming to promote eco-friendly lifestyle

What would you think of organic fertilizers? Living compost? Animal feces? Stinky and disgusting? Have you ever heard about a clean, good-smelling fertilizer for farming made from the uneaten leftovers on your plates? A group of social design and communication design students joined hands for an eco-farming project—Soil Trust, that experiments with community food waste collection to be made into Bokashi compost. This is not only aimed towards an eco-friendly lifestyle, but also highlights the importance of local farming for reintegrating organic resources and for providing eco-system services. Bokashi is an age-old resource recovery method made popular in Japan since the 80s, that turns food waste into soil amendment by means of fermentation. During the fermentation process, it releases a fruity and malty scent of wine, instead of a rotten smell. The Soil Trust team established its base on organic farmland in Tai Kong Po, Yuen Long. There, they process the collected food waste into soil-regenerative eco-enzymes and bokashi compost. The enzymes and compost undergo months of fermentation and care before they can be applied to the fields: Yes, it requires more work than conventional farming practices. That’s why bokashi is not widely adopted in Hong Kong,” said Shing, the Soil Trust farm manager.   Despite the extra work and processing time required, bokashi can not only help to cope with food waste from various sources but also has great potential for bringing crucial microbial life back into the soils of small-scale plantations in a self-sufficient way. “We hope to bring farming into urban households so that people can produce their food and learn more about and appreciate the food they consume every day,” said Kit Tsang, one of the student team members.     “Hong Kong is over-reliant on extremely long food supply chains, which depend on imports from mainland China and around the globe,” said Annie Lee, a team member. “If we could build a self-sufficient way of food cultivation, especially for fresh fruits and vegetables, the price and supply of food would be more stable—more independent of external factors. This way the city would have higher resilience to uncontrollable situations like the COVID pandemic and bad weather.” The farm is yielding a variety of crops, such as corn, sweet potatoes, strawberries, lettuce, broccoli, and more. Before becoming food, the crops are nurtured by food. This cycle of food production sets an example for the regeneration of resources.        In the coming months, the team is expected to make use of the materials and experience acquired to create a design intervention to tighten the connection between food waste collection, bokashi-based farming, and the promotion of an eco-friendly lifestyle in their Integrated Entrepreneurship Project.